Weather strip



FIG. 4

R. C. HORTON WEATHER STRIP Filed March 21, 1962 l l//l/ l l l//l//l//l/ 26 lo March 30, 1965 INVENTOR.

RDBERT C. HORTON HIS ATTORNEYS.

38 will United States Patent O "i 3,175,256 WEATHER STRIP Robert C. Horton, Pittsford, NY., assigner to The Schlegel Manufacturing Company, Rochester, N .Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 21, 1962, Ser. No. 131,390 9 Qlaims. (Cl. Ztl- 69) The present invention relates to weather stripping for sealing joints, such as those between doors, windows and other closures and the frames or structural supports therefor, one object of the invention being to provide an improved sealing means for such purposes of a more durable, economical and effective character.

Another object is the provision of a weather strip or windlace of the above nature affording a more impervious barrier to Weather conditions.

A further object is to supply a weather stripping means having the above advantages in a construction which is more economical to manufacture and install in use.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a windlace or Weather strip embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. l but showing a manufacturing step;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, sectional elevation on the line 3 3 in FIG. 1, including, in addition, a typical'holding member;

FIG. 4 is a View similar to FIG. 3 but showing a modiiied embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing another modification;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing another modified form;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing another modification, and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing a further modification.

Weather stripping for the purposes herein disclosed has been heretofore constructed of materials such as rubber, felt or the like, subject to the defects that such materials have tended to harden and deteriorate in use and become permanently deformed, so as to deteriorate rather rapidly with age. Such weather strips have also been made with a textile base strip carrying a longitudinal body or band of resilient, long pile fibers to accomplish sealing, and the present invention is an improvement upon weather stripping of that type for the purpose of making it more impervious to penetration by wind and water, to improve its sealing efliciency and also to reinforce, stiften and support the pile fibers against deformation in use.

The invention comprises a supporting base strip 10 which, in one of its forms, is woven of textile fibers preferably of wool, with or without a minor proportion of fibers of nylon, Orlon or the like. This base strip is preferably woven in a known one-up, one-down pattern, with ups-tanding resilient long pile fibers 12, which may be either cut or left uncut. Such pile bers may be made of known plastic materials or of natural mohair, goat hair, worsted, jute or the like, affording relatively long, resilient fibers capable of returning to original upright position after deformation. Base strip 10 is preferably woven with a narrow, longitudinal gap or skip 14 in its pile, intermediate its marginal edges, for a purpose which will now be described.

A relatively thin barrier strip 16 of known flexible 3,175,256 Patented Mar. 30, 1965 thermoplastic m-aterial, such as vinyl, or nylon or glass fiber fabric coated with vinyl, is secured on edge to the base strip 10 in gap 14, as shown, preferably while the pile fibers 12 are parted for access to the base as shown in FIG. 2. This is preferably accomplished by heating the strip 16 to soften the vinyl strip or its vinyl coating sufficiently to cause it to adhere tenaciously to the base strip 10. Then the pile fibers 12 are allowed to return to upright position and preferably pressed into contact with .the barrier strip 16 to cause more or less adherence of the fibers thereto, depending upon the degree of heating of the vinyl. Barrier strip 16 may have the full height of the bers 12 as shown in FIG. 3, or may terminate somewhat below the top of the fibers, las shown at 17 in FIG. 4.

Base strip lil is preferably given a coating of a known thermoplastic such as polypropylene, to protect it against abrasion and facilitate the cutting of the strip without fraying from sheet material.

The base strip 10 preferably has its marginal edges extending beyond the pile fibers, as shown, to adapt the strip for sliding reception in a channel-shaped holder or keeper member 18 (FIG. 3) having its flanges 19 overlapping the marginal edges of the base strip. The member 1S may be attached in any known and suitable way or made integral with the frame of a closure to be sealed.

A wea-ther strip constructed as described above pro vides an impervious barrier to wind and rain. The re isilient pile fibers and flexible barrier strip 16 cooperate in mutual support to produce a sealing body which is resilient as a whole, so as to permanently return to and maintain its original shape and integrity in use. Furthermore, the construction is durable and readily and economically manufactured and installed.

A weather strip having the `above advantages may be manufactured also in the modified form shown in FIG. 5, in which the base strip 2t) and pile bodies or bands 22 are constructed as described above, with an intervening gap between the fiber bodies in which a bead 24 of vinyl is laid longitudinally of the base strip with the fibers parted as shown in FIG. 2. A barrier strip 26 of vinyl, or of nylon or glass fabric coated with vinyl, is inserted with its edge embedded in bead 24 which, on cooling and setting, firmly secures the barrier to the base strip, with the barrier extending at its other edge part way or entirely to the top of the pile fibers. i

In another construction embodying the present invention (FIG. 6), the barrier strip comprises a sheet 28 of flexible plastic material such as vinyl or nylon or glass fiber fabric coated with vinyl and folded longitudinally and medially upon itself and secured at its folded edge to the base strip 30 by means of a Vinyl bead 32 similar to the bead 24 described above. This construction provides a stronger barrier of double thickness, with increased supporting cooperation between the barrier and the pile fibers 34.

A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 7 in which a member 36 of inverted T shape supplies in an integral construction both the base strip 38 and the barrier strip 40, made of known and suitable plastic material such as vinyl, nylon, polyethylene or the like. Bodies or bands of flexible, long pile fibers 42 and 44 are assembled by known flocking apparatus along both sides of the central barrier 40, with the inner ends of the fibers set in a layer 46 of any known and suitable cement. The barrier 40 may extend either part way or entirely to the top of the fibers and may be made thick enough to provide increased support for the fibers.

A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 8 in which a base strip 48 is folded medially as at 52 to form an integral upstanding barrier strip 50 of double thickness, with its sides adhesively secured together. Layers of cement 54 are applied to the base strip on opposite sides `of the barrier and resilient long pile bers 56 are secured to the base strip by the known Hocking method, as described above in connection With FIG. 7, and with the pile fibers extending to the top or above the top of the barrier strip. Or the pile bers may be Woven from the Woven base strip 48, if so desired, as described above and shown in FIGS. 1-6. This and the other modied constructions described above may be secured to a structure to be sealed as described and shown in connection with the construction shown in FIG. 3.

Typical embodiments of the above described Weather strips, for example, may have a Width at the base strip and also an overall height of one fourth of an inch, more or less, depending upon particular installations and requirements.

The invention thus provides an improved weather strip in several forms, adaptable to various conditions, each supplying a Weather stripping of the resilient, long pile type, made impervious to Wind and Weather and reinforced and supported by an included single or double barrier strip of impervious material rmly anchored at its inner edge to a base strip. The latter may be of either woven or plastic material with edges adapted to be slidably received and supported in a channel-shaped hold' ing member.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my pending application, Serial No. 119,624, tiled June 26, 1961, for Weather Strip, and now abandoned.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects and While it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that various modications in the construction and arrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A llexible weather strip adapted to be xedly secured to an enclosing structure and to seal an opening therein, comprising a base strip of exible sheet material, yspaced bodies of resilient, long pile ibers extending longitudinally of said base strip with a pile-free gap therebetween, and a barrier strip of impervious, exible sheet material fixed at one edge to said base strip in said pile gap, to project laterally from and extend longitudinally of said base strip to seal and support said ber bodies.

2. A flexible' weather strip having the construction s specified in claim 1 and furthe-r characterized by a base strip of textile material having said pile bers Woven therewith.

3. A ilexible Weather strip having the construction specied in claim 1 and further characterized by bodies of pile iibers having the fibers thereof adhesively secured at their ends to said base strip.

4. A flexible weather strip having the construction specified in claim 1 and further characterized by a barrier strip of plastic material adhesively secured at one edge to said base strip.

5. A flexible Weather strip having the construction specied in claim 1 wherein said base strip is provided With pile-free marginal edges and further characterized by a holding member of substantially channel shape having its flanges enclosing `said marginal edges of said base strip for slidably receiving and supporting the same.

6. A tlexible Weather strip having the construction specied in claim 1 and further characterized by a barrier strip of liexible sheet material folded upon itself and having its folded edge adhesively secured to said base strip.

7. A flexible Weather strip having the construction specified in claim 1 and further characterized by a base strip formed of plastic sheet material with said barrier strip formed integrally therewith and projecting therefrom and said pile libers adlhesiveiy secured at their lower ends to said base strip.

8. A flexible Weather strip having the construction specified in claim l and further characterized by a base strip folded medially upon itself to forni a barrier strip of double thickness having its adjacent sides adhesively secured together to project from said base strip with said pile fibers on said base strip adjacent opposite sides of said barrier strip and supporting and supported by said barrier strip.

9. A flexible Weather strip having the construction specied in claim 8 and further characterized by pile bers adhesively secured at their lower ends to said base strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 956,535 Lotz May 3, 1910 1,191,556 Blake July 18, 1916 1,492,052 Tolman Apr. 29, 1924 1,730,677 Nelson Oct. 8, 1929 1,971,493 Leathers Aug. 28, 1934 2,599,183 Kessler June 3, 1952 2,702,914 Kittle et al Mar. 1, 1955 2,829,000 Levi Apr. 1, 1958 3,002,253 Kessler Oct. 3, 1961 

1. A FLEXIBLE WEATHER STRIP ADAPTED TO BE FIXEDLY SECURED TO AN ENCLOSING STRUCTURE AND TO SEAL AN OPENING THEREIN, COMPRISING A BASE STRIP OF FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL, SPACED BODIES OF RESILIENT, LONG PILE FIBERS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BASE STRIP WITH A PILE-FREE GAP THEREBETWEEN, AND A BARRIER STRIP OF IMPERVIOUS, FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL FIXED AT ONE EDGE TO SAID BASE STRIP IN SAID PILE GAP, TO PROJECT LATTERALLY FROM AND EXTEND LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BASE STRIP TO SEAL AND SUPPORT SAID FIBER BODIES. 